What? What shit is Meredith Whitney smoking to think that this bill will pass? I can even imagine President Obama and Paul Volcker secretly saying – ‘We’ll take a tough stand on the banks, but no way in hell does this pass.’

First of all, there is no chance this bill gets to the Congress before the mid-term elections in November and (thanks to the Supreme Court decision yesterday) with all the new money that corporations (including big banks) can spend on candidates, I suspect there will be a different make-up of the House and Senate by the time this bill does come up for a vote. And it will, most likely, be defeated – or watered down to a point that it really has no effect.

So, what is the point of Meredith Whitney speaking out with such bravado about how bad things are? Perhaps she is shorting everything in her portfolio and has discovered that she can move the markets with her statements. Perhaps she’s just a downer of a person and needs some joy in her life.

I don’t know – but it disturbs me whenever she talks.

Personally, I think President Obama was wrong to come out with such a strong statement against banks on the day Goldman Sachs reported such strong earnings. I think, in general, negativity about the economy should be released only in the Summer when people aren’t so gloomy and can handle bad news better.

Obviously, that can’t happen. And we shouldn’t “put lipstick on a pig”, as they say, if things are getting worse out there.

I just don’t believe things are getting worse. I don’t believe Meredith Whitney thinks things are getting worse, but, for whatever reason, she wants you to believe they are.

Bobby D

After the past 2 years all anyone needs to hear is that the run is over and they will panic and get out with the money they got back over the past year. Another plunge and it may not come back as robust as it did from last March. The economic news was that bad this week. Though unemployment was a shock.

Robert Browne

Sorry to have to tell you that Meredith is right and furthermore the tightening of consumer credit (the denominator effect) will soon bring stocks much lower. Depending on the utterly suicidal and incomprehensible decision of the US supreme court for solace as you do is sad. That decision bolsters the corruption and lobbying of politicians and is strange if not perverse.

Outsiders looking on have gasped in amazement at the sheer folly of this decision to give corporate america the power to literally buy candidates, elections and power. It is legalized blackmail which used to take place behind peoples backs but now it is open season on democracy and the American people with this auction style, in your face legalized buying of politicians. The little people don’t count anymore only when it comes to socializing losses.

The framers of the constitution must surely be spinning in their graves. Soon, Wall Street will be spinning too. Obama has woken to smell the coffee and must win the war on wall street if the US is not to turn into some third rate undemocratic state. Shame on these judges and time to change the constitution to protect democracy from this kind of legal hegemony.

I believe you misunderstand my point about the Supreme Court decision. I don’t use it as solace. I use it as proof that there is no way President Obama’s banking regulations get through congress. My point is that Meredith is irresponsible to say that it’s going through when the odds are – it won’t. There will be some sort of watered-down legislation that means nothing to the banks or their overall profit.

Sure, fundamentals are still on shaky ground and everyone is nervous. People like Meredith Whitney only make people more nervous. She shouldn’t be treated as a “Paul Revere” shouting a warning to all of us naive and asleep people that the market is crashing – the market is crashing. She should be treated as the bomb thrower / stock shorter that she is.

Can any Republicans who consider themselves smart explain how Bushes TARP was NOT Socialism? Can any of you tell me, disregarding of what your Political Party Articulates it believes in and has for however long, I should believe a single word of it after experiencing continuing deficit expenditure under your pols? I let off Reagan from this – the Eastern Bloc needed to be vanquished and I think he’s the only leader of the last fifty years who had a reasonable excuse for it and as I see it we broken their backs economically. But since then?

Kobio

Oh I don’t know Jill, maybe she’s done a little research at her research firm and discovered that things aren’t all that rosey right now. We’ll see. But I suppose your “I don’t know, it disturbs me whenever she talks” is grounds for discrediting her?! What exactly have you done lately?

Ted Bernstein

Ms. Whitney must have grown tired of botching her bank predictions. She has been wrong 100% of the time since mid-2009. She manages a fund so her intentions are obvious. Why doesn’t someone simply ask her what her holdings are and her motivations will become crystal clear. Debbie Downer should be her nickname. She talks about all of her famous banking research and now her municipality research. Let’s see it.

ejhickey

when I hear that the State of Illinois is spending twice the amount of its tax revenue and that Illinois’s population is declining (and by implication the Illinois tax base) and that the total debt of that state $120 billion , I would agree with MW that at least Illinois municipal bonds are a bad investment . I am surprised that Moody’s has not rated them ” areallybadeffenidea”.